Floral sleeve having expandable sidewalls

ABSTRACT

A floral sleeve sized to fit a flower pot, the sleeve having a base with side and bottom gussets for allowing expansion from a flattened position and method of using same. The sleeve may comprise a detachable upper portion, and a skirt portion.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/632,259,filed Aug. 3, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,286,256 which is a continuationof U.S. Ser. No. 09/360,865, filed Jul. 23, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No.6,125,578, issued Oct. 3, 2000.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention generally relates to sleeves, and, more particularly,sleeves used to contain floral groupings and media, or used to wrapflower pots containing floral groupings and/or media containing floralgroupings, and methods of using same.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an elevational an view of a sleeve having a gusset expansionmeans in each size thereof.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the sleeve of FIG. 1 partially expanded.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the sleeve of FIG. 2, taken alongline 3—3 thereof.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the sleeve of FIG. 2 fully expanded.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a sleeve similar to the sleeve of FIG. 1but having two gussets in each side of the sleeve.

FIG. 6 is an elevational view of another sleeve constructed inaccordance with the present invention and having a non-linear upper end.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a partially expanded sleeve having anupper portion detachable via a line of perforations.

FIG. 8 is an elevational view of a sleeve similar to the sleeve of FIG.7 but having a non-linear line of perforations.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a partially expanded sleeve having agusset in each side and having a bottom gusset, the bottom gusset beingof a different configuration than the bottom gusset of the sleeves inFIGS. 1-8.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a partially expanded sleeve similar tothe sleeve of FIG. 9 but having a concave lower end.

FIG. 11 is a side view of a portion of a sleeve having a tapered sidegusset.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the sleeve of FIG. 7 fully expanded andcontaining a plant and growing medium.

The present invention is a preformed sleeve for covering a flower pot(also referred to herein as pot). The preformed sleeve has an upper end,a lower end and an outer peripheral surface. The preformed sleeve mayalso be used as a container for a plant. The preformed sleeve comprisesa base portion having an upper end, a lower end, and an interior spacesized to contain the flower pot or medium for containing a plant. Askirt portion may optionally extend from the upper end of the baseportion. The preformed sleeve includes one or more expansion elementswhich are one or more gussets in each side of the base portion and,optionally, in the skirt portion, where present, and optionally, in anupper detachable portion where present. The preformed sleeve isinitially formed in a flattened condition and may be shipped in aflattened condition or may be expanded to an open condition prior toshipment. The base portion of the sleeve further includes a gusset inthe bottom thereof. Each side and the bottom of the preformed sleeve mayinclude more than one gusset therein. A bonding material many bedisposed on an inner surface of the base portion for connecting thepreformed sleeve to the flower pot. The gusset functions to allow thebase portion to expand to contain the flower pot and to conform to theshape of the outer peripheral surface of the flower pot when the flowerpot is disposed within the preformed sleeve. The preformed sleeve mayfurther include a detachable upper sleeve portion generally sized toenclose a floral grouping, and which when detached, may allow the skirtportion, if present, to extend away from the base portion when theflower pot is disposed within the base portion of the preformed sleeve.The upper portion, when present, may be detachable via perforations,tear strips, weakened areas, or zippers. The upper sleeve portion mayhave an area which serves as a handle or support device. The gussets mayextend the entire length from the lower end of the base portion to theupper end of the preformed sleeve or may extend only an intermediatedistance therebetween.

The expansion elements are not intended to be limited only to thegussets shown herein, in view of the fact that gussets and theirmanufacture are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art ofmanufacturing bags.

The preformed sleeve may form part of a plant package when used inconjunction with the flower pot which is disposed within the retainingspace of the base portion of the preformed sleeve, the flower pot havinga floral grouping disposed therein, and wherein the flower pot issubstantially surrounded and encompassed by the base portion of thepreformed sleeve and the floral grouping is substantially surrounded andenclosed by the upper sleeve portion of the preformed sleeve in thoseembodiments wherein the upper sleeve portion forms a part of thepreformed sleeve.

Further, the detachable upper sleeve portion, when present, may extendfrom the upper end of the skirt, when present, or it may be connected tothe base portion. When the upper sleeve portion is connected to the baseportion, it may be connected to an inner portion of the base portion,leaving the skirt portion exposed, or it may be attached to an outerportion of the base portion, thereby enclosing the skirt portion untilthe upper sleeve portion is detached from the base portion therebyexposing the skirt portion.

The preformed sleeve may be constructed from one or more types ofmaterial. The preformed sleeve may comprise a portion of a plant packagewhich additionally includes the flower pot disposed within the preformedsleeve, the flower pot having a floral grouping disposed therein, andwherein the flower pot is substantially surrounded and encompassed bythe base portion of the preformed sleeve. Alternatively, the plantpackage may comprise only the preformed sleeve, a plant, and a mediumfor containing the plant.

These embodiments and others of the present invention are now describedin more detail below. It will be appreciated that the examples providedherein are not intended to limit the scope and extent of the claimedinvention but are only intended to exemplify various of the embodimentsof the invention contemplated herein.

Shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and designated therein by the general referencenumeral 10, is a flexible preformed tubular sleeve (also referred toherein as sleeve 10). The sleeve 10 is initially formed in a flexibleflat collapsed state which is openable in the form of a tube or sleevehaving a closed bottom, or a closed bottom having drainage holes or apartially open bottom. Prior to shipment to a user, or prior to use bythe user, the sleeve 10 may be expanded into an opened configuration.The sleeve 10 is preferably tapered outwardly from a lower end 14 towarda larger diameter at an upper end 12. In the flattened state, the sleeve10 preferably has an overall trapezoidal or modified trapezoidal shape,and when opened is substantially frusto-conical. It will be appreciated,however, that the sleeve 10 may be variations on the aforementionedshapes or may be significantly altered shapes, such as square orrectangular, as long as the sleeve 10 functions in accordance with thepresent invention in the manner described herein.

The sleeve 10, in addition to the upper end 12 and the lower end 14, hasa first side 16 and a second side 18 when the sleeve 10 is in theflattened state, as shown in FIG. 1. The sleeve 10 has an opening 13(FIG. 2) at the upper end 12 and is closed with a bottom 15 at the lowerend 14. The sleeve 10 also has an inner peripheral surface 17 which,when the sleeve 10 is opened, defines and encompasses an inner retainingspace 36, as indicated in FIGS. 3 and 4. The first side 16 includes afirst side gusset 20 having an inner fold 22. The second side 18includes a second side gusset 24 having an inner fold 26. A portion ofthe lower end 14 of the sleeve 10 is preferably folded to form one ormore bottom gussets 28 constructed in a manner well known to one ofordinary skill in the art as shown in FIG. 1, for permitting a bottom ofan object such as a potted plant to be disposed into the inner retainingspace 36 of the sleeve 10. Each bottom gusset 28 of the sleeve 10 has aninner fold 30, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The lower end 14 of the sleeve10, and particularly the gusset 28 therein, may be constructed to form around bottom sleeve in the manner shown in copending U.S. Ser. No.09/080,771, the specification of which is hereby expressly incorporatedherein in its entirety. A sleeve in an alternate embodiment may beconstructed without a gusset in its lower end. In another embodiment,the bottom gusset 28 may be constructed in a different configurationfrom that shown herein. The sleeve 10 further comprises a first panel 32disposed between sides 16 and 18, and a second panel 34 disposed betweensides 16 and 18, opposite panel 32, substantially as shown in FIG. 2.

Further, the sleeve 10 may have any shape, whether geometric,non-geometric, asymmetrical and/or fanciful as long as it functions inaccordance with the present invention. The sleeve 10 may also beequipped with a drainage element (e.g., one or more holes) in the lowerend 14 thereof or ventilation holes (not shown), or the sleeve 10 can bemade from permeable or impermeable materials.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the sleeve 10 taken along line 3—3of FIG. 2. The sleeve 10 is partially expanded, showing the innerretaining space 36, as well as the first side gusset 20 with inner fold22, the second side gusset 24 with inner fold 26, and the first panel 32and the second panel 34. When the sleeve 10 is in the fully openconfiguration, as shown in FIG. 4, the first and second side gussets 20and 24 are expanded to form sides 16 and 18 of the sleeve 10,respectively. Similarly, bottom gusset 28 is open to form the lower end14 of the sleeve 10. Preferably, the sleeve 10 is sized to contain andconform to one of a variety of standard sizes of flower pots known tothose of ordinary skill in the art, such as 4-inch, 6-inch and 8-inchflower pots. As noted above, the sleeve 10 may be used to contain aplant and a growing medium without the use of a flower pot.

A sleeve 10 a contemplated herein may have more than one side and/orbottom gusset, for example as shown in FIG. 5. Sleeve 10 a is providedwith an upper end 12 a, a lower end 14 a, a first side 16 a and a secondside 18 a. The sleeve 10 a has two gussets 20 a and 20 aa in the firstside 16 a, and two gussets 24 a and 24 aa in the second side 18 a. Thesleeve 10 a further has a first panel 32 a and a second panel 34 a.

FIG. 6 shows a sleeve 10 b having a curved, or non-linear, upper end 12b and a bottom gusset 28 b. The non-linear upper end 12 b may be wavy,sinusoidal, scalloped, crenulate, crenelate, zig-zagged, or toothed, inany regular or irregular pattern.

The invention further contemplates a sleeve 10 c shown in FIG. 7. Sleeve10 c is constructed in a manner similar to any of sleeves 10-10 b,except sleeve 10 c includes a lower portion 40 and an upper portion 42.The upper portion 42 is detachable from the lower portion 40 via adetaching element, such as perforations 44. The sleeve 10 c has a firstside gusset 20 c having inner fold 22 c and a second side gusset 24 chaving inner fold 26 c, and a bottom gusset 28 c, similar to thepreviously-described sleeves. The term “detaching element,” as usedgenerally herein, means any element, or combination of elements, orfeatures, such as, but not by way of limitation, perforations, tearstrips, weakened areas, zippers, and any other devices or elements ofthis nature known in the art, or any combination thereof, which enablethe tearing away or detachment of one object from another. Therefore,while perforations 44 are shown and described in detail herein, it willbe understood that tear strips, zippers, or any other “detachingelements” known in the art, or any combination thereof, could besubstituted therefore and/or used therewith. Preferably, the upperportion 42 is sized to substantially enclose a floral grouping, andlower portion 40 is sized to contain and enclose a flower pot.

FIG. 8 shows a sleeve 10 d similar to sleeve 10 c except sleeve 10 dincludes a lower portion 46 and an upper portion 48 which is detachablefrom the lower portion 46 via a detaching element, such as perforations50 having a non-linear pattern. The non-linear pattern 50 may have thesame pattern as described above for the upper end 12 b of sleeve 10 b.Sleeve 10 d further includes a first side 16 d and a second side 18 d,each side with a gusset 20 d and 24 d, respectively, and a bottom 14 dwith a gusset 28 d.

As noted elsewhere herein, the configurations of the gussets shown inthe sleeves 10-10 d of FIGS. 1-8 are not the only configurationscontemplated for the present invention. Any gusset which functions inaccordance with the present invention may be used. For example, FIG. 9shows a sleeve 10 e having a first side 16 e having a first side gusset20 e with an inner fold 22 e, and a second side 18 e having a secondside gusset 24 e with an inner fold 26 e and a lower end 14 e having abottom gusset 28 e with an inner fold 30 e, which compriseconfigurations different from corresponding features of the sleeves ofFIGS. 1-8. Sleeve 10 e, however, functions in essentially the samemanner, and is otherwise constructed in the same manner, as the sleevesof FIGS. 1-8.

FIG. 10 shows a sleeve 10 f which is constructed in a manner similar tothat of sleeve 10 e in FIG. 9, except for the configuration of a lowerend 14 f of the sleeve 10 f. Sleeve 10 f has an upper end 12 f, thelower end 14 f, a first side 16 f with a first side gusset 20 f havingan inner fold 22 f, and a second side 18 f with a second side gusset 24f having an inner fold 26 f. The lower end 14 f has a bottom gusset 28 fhaving an inner fold 30 f. The bottom gusset 28 f has curved portions 52and 54 which provide the sleeve 10 f with the appearance of having acurved lower end 14 f when in the flattened condition. The gusset 28 falso has curved portions 56 and 58 in the first side 16 f and curvedportions 60 and 62 in the second side 18 f. The curved portions 52-62 ofthe bottom gusset 28 f provide the sleeve 10 f with a rounded bottom inthe open condition for more closely conforming to the roundedconfiguration of a round-bottom flower pot.

Any sleeve described herein may be constructed in a manner similar to asleeve 10 g shown in FIG. 11, wherein a side gusset 20 g having an innerfold 22 g is tapered to have a lesser width 64 at a lower end 14 g and agreater width 66 at an upper end 12 g. Such a configuration enables thesleeve 10 g to have a tapered shape not only in the dimension spanningthe first and second panels 32 g and 34 g, respectively, but also in thedimension spanning sides (not shown) of the sleeve 10 g.

FIG. 12 shows the sleeve 10 c of FIG. 7, having the lower portion 40 andupper portion 42 which are separable via perforations 44, the sleeve 10c being used as a container for a plant medium 70 and a plant 72,disposed within the medium 70 without using a flower pot. In a preferredversion, the lower portion 40 is constructed of a material resistant orimpermeable to leakage, while the upper portion 42 is primarilyconstructed of a thinner transparent or translucent material.

The material from which the sleeves 10-10 g are constructed preferablyhas a thickness in a range from about 0.1 mil to about 30 mils. Often,the thicknesses of the sleeves 10-10 g are in a range from about 0.5 milto about 10 mils. Preferably, each of the sleeves 10-10 g has athickness in a range from about 1.0 mil to about 5 mils. Morepreferably, the sleeves 10-10 g are constructed from a material which isflexible, semi-rigid, rigid, or any combination thereof. The sleeves10—10 g may be constructed of a single layer of material or a pluralityof layers of the same or different types of materials. Any thickness ofthe material may be utilized as long as the material functions inaccordance with the present invention and is expandable to an openposition as described herein. The layers of material comprising thesleeves 10-10 g may be connected together or laminated or may beseparate layers. Such materials used to construct the sleeves 10-10 gare described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,637 entitled “Method For Wrapping AFloral Grouping” issued to Weder et al., on May 12, 1992, which ishereby expressly incorporated herein by reference. Any thickness ofmaterial may be utilized in accordance with the present invention aslong as the sleeves 10-10 g may be formed as described herein, and aslong as the formed sleeves 10-10 g may contain at least a portion of aflower pot or potted plant or a floral grouping, as described herein.Additionally, an insulating material such as bubble film, preferably oneof two or more layers, can be utilized in order to provide additionalprotection for the item, such as the floral grouping, contained therein.

In one embodiment, the sleeves 10-10 g may be constructed from a sheetcomprising two polypropylene films. The polypropylene films comprisingthe sleeves 10-10 g may be connected together or laminated or may beseparate layers. In an alternative embodiment, the sleeves 10-10 g maybe constructed from only one of the polypropylene films.

The sleeves 10-10 g are constructed from any suitable material that iscapable of being formed into a sleeve and wrapped about a flower pot anda floral grouping disposed therein. Preferably, the material comprisespaper (untreated or treated in any manner), metal foil, polymeric film,non-polymeric film, fabric (woven or nonwoven or synthetic or natural),cardboard, fiber, cloth, burlap, or laminations or combinations thereof.

The term “polymeric film” means a man-made polymer such as apolypropylene or a naturally occurring polymer such as cellophane. Apolymeric film is relatively strong and not as subject to tearing(substantially non-tearable), as might be the case with paper or foil.

The material comprising the sleeves 10-10 g may vary in color and mayconsist of designs or decorative patterns which are printed, etched,and/or embossed thereon using inks or other printing materials. Anexample of an ink which may be applied to the surface of the material isdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,147,706 entitled “Water Based Ink On FoilAnd/Or Synthetic Organic Polymer” issued to Kingman on Sep. 15, 1992 andwhich is hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference.

In addition, the material may have various colorings, coatings, flockingand/or metallic finishes, or other decorative surface ornamentathonapplied separately or simultaneously or may be characterized totally orpartially by pearlescent, translucent, transparent, iridescent, neon, orthe like, qualities. The material may further comprise, or have appliedthereto, one or more scents. Each of the above-named characteristics mayoccur alone or in combination and may be applied to an upper and/orlower surface of the material comprising the sleeves 10-10 g. Moreover,portions of the material used in constructing the sleeves 10-10 g mayvary in the combination of such characteristics. The material utilizedfor the sleeves 10-10 g may be opaque, translucent, transparent, orpartially clear or tinted transparent.

The term “growing medium” when used herein means any liquid, solid orgaseous material used for plant growth or for the cultivation ofpropagules, including organic and inorganic materials such as soil,humus, perlite, vermiculite, sand, water, and including the nutrients,fertilizers or hormones or combinations thereof required by the plantsor propagules for growth.

The term “botanical item” when used herein means a natural or artificialherbaceous or woody plant, taken singly or in combination. The term“botanical item” also means any portion or portions of natural orartificial herbaceous or woody plants including stems, leaves, flowers,blossoms, buds, blooms, cones, or roots, taken singly or in combination,or in groupings of such portions such as bouquet or floral grouping.

The term “propagule” when used herein means any structure capable ofbeing propagated or acting as an agent of reproduction including seeds,shoots, stems, runners, tubers, plants, leaves, roots or spores.

In accordance with the present invention, a bonding material may bedisposed on a portion of the sleeve to assist in holding the sleeve tothe pot having the floral grouping therein when such a pot is disposedwithin the sleeve or to assist in closing or sealing the upper portionof the sleeve or in adhering the sleeve to the pot after the pot hasbeen disposed therein for example in the manner shown in U.S. Pat. No.5,493,809 which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

In accordance with the present invention, a bonding material may bedisposed on a portion of the sleeves 10-10 g to assist in holding thesleeves 10-10 g to the flower pot having the floral grouping thereinwhen such a flower pot is disposed within the sleeves 10-10 g or toassist in closing or sealing the upper portion of the sleeves 10-10 g orin adhering the sleeves 10-10 g to the flower pot after the flower pothas been disposed therein; for example, in the manner shown in U.S. Pat.No. 5,493,809, which is hereby expressly incorporated by referenceherein in its entirety.

It will be understood that the bonding material may be disposed as astrip or block on a surface of the sleeves 10-10 g. The bonding materialmay also be disposed upon either an outer peripheral surface or an innerperipheral surface of any of the sleeves 10-10 g, as well as upon theflower pot. Further, the bonding material may be disposed as spots ofbonding material, or in any other geometric, non-geometric, asymmetric,or fanciful form, and in any pattern including covering either theentire inner peripheral surface and/or outer peripheral surface of anyof the sleeves 10-10 g and/or the flower pot. The bonding material maybe covered by a cover or release strip which can be removed prior to theuse of the sleeve and/or flower pot. The bonding material can be appliedby means known to those of ordinary skill in their art. One method fordisposing a bonding material, in this case an adhesive, is described inU.S. Pat. No. 5,111,637 entitled “Method For Wrapping A Floral Grouping”issued to Weder et al., on May 12, 1992, which has been expresslyincorporated by reference above.

It will be understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art thatequipment and devices for forming floral sleeves are commerciallyavailable, and are well known to a person of ordinary skill in the art.Therefore, further discussion of the construction of the coversdescribed herein is not deemed necessary.

In one version of the present invention a strip of bonding material (notshown) may be disposed adjacent the upper end of the sleeve for allowingthe upper end to be sealed for enclosing the upper portion of the sleeveabout a floral grouping disposed therein. In another version of thepresent invention, a sleeve may comprise a flap positioned at the upperend which can be folded over and sealed with a flap bonding strip to anadjacent portion of the outer peripheral surface of the sleeve near theupper end thereof. Other versions of the sleeve (not shown) may compriseventilation holes or drainage means (e.g., holes in the lower end 14)for allowing movement of gases or moisture to and away from the innerspace of the sleeve.

In one version of the present invention a strip of bonding material (notshown) may be disposed adjacent the upper end of the sleeve for allowingthe upper end to be sealed for enclosing the upper portion of the sleeveabout a floral grouping disposed therein. In another version of thepresent invention, a sleeve may comprise a flap positioned at the upperend which can be folded over and sealed with a flap bonding strip to anadjacent portion of the outer peripheral surface of the sleeve near theupper end thereof. Other versions of the sleeve (not shown) may includeventilation holes or drainage means (e.g., holes in the lower end 14)for allowing movement of gases or moisture to and away from the innerspace of the sleeve.

In another embodiment, the sleeve, may further comprise an extendedportion having apertures therein, which portion extends away from aportion of the upper end of the sleeve for allowing the sleeve to besupported on a support assembly commercially available and known by oneof ordinary skill in the art such as a pair of wickets for shipment,storage, assembly of the sleeve, placement of the flower pot within thesleeve, or other functions known in the art. The extension may have aplurality of perforations or other detaching means for allowing theextension to be removed from the upper end sleeve after the sleeve hasbeen provided for use as described elsewhere herein. In another versionof the invention a sleeve has an extended portion comprising a handlefor carrying the potted plant package by the sleeve. The sleeve mayfurther comprise a detaching element comprising perforations forremoving the handle at a later time.

Each side gusset of the sleeve comprises one or more areas of excessmaterial which may have the form of a pleat which extends from the lowerend to the upper end of the sleeve. Preferably the surfaces of thefacing surfaces of the gussets are substantially unconnected to eachother along their lengths.

The side gussets in the sleeve contemplated herein may be constructed insuch a way that each side gusset extends completely from the lower endof the sleeve to the upper end of the sleeve, for example as shown inFIG. 1. Alternatively, a sleeve may comprise gussets which extend fromthe upper end only part of the distance toward the lower end or from thelower end to only the part of the distance toward the upper end.

It will generally be desired to use the sleeve 10 as a covering for apotted plant.

The term “pot” as used herein refers to any type of container used forholding a floral grouping or plant. Examples of pots, used in accordancewith the present invention include, but not by way of limitation, claypots, wooden pots, plastic pots, pots made from natural mad/or syntheticfibers, or any combination thereof. The pot is adapted to receive afloral grouping in the retaining space. The floral grouping may bedisposed within the pot along with a suitable growing medium describedin further detail below, or other retaining medium, such as a floralfoam. It will also be understood that the floral grouping, and anyappropriate growing medium or other retaining medium, may be disposed inthe sleeve without a pot (see FIG. 12).

The term “flower pot” as used herein refers to any type of containerused for holding a floral grouping or plant. Examples of flower pots,used in accordance with the present invention include, but not by way oflimitation, clay pots, wooden pots, plastic pots, pots made from naturalmad/or synthetic fibers, or any combination thereof. The flower pot isadapted to receive a floral grouping in the retaining space. The floralgrouping may be disposed within the flower pot along with a suitablegrowing medium described in further detail below, or other retainingmedium, such as a floral foam. It will also be understood that thefloral grouping, and any appropriate growing medium or other retainingmedium, may be disposed in the sleeve without a flower pot (see FIG.12).

It should also be noted that for all versions of sleeves described, itmay be desirable to have a release material or cover strip covering theadhesive or cohesive bonding material when such a bonding material isdisposed on any portion of the sleeve for preventing the bondingmaterial from bonding to another surface until the desired time. Furtherin each of the cases described herein wherein a sleeve is applied to apot or a covered pot, the sleeve may be applied thereto either bydepositing the pot or covered pot downwardly into the open retainingspace of the sleeve, or the sleeve may be brought upwardly about the potor covered pot from below the pot or a covered pot.

It should also be noted that for all versions of sleeves described, itmay be desirable to have a release material or cover strip covering theadhesive or cohesive bonding material when such a bonding material isdisposed on any portion of the sleeve for preventing the bondingmaterial from bonding to another surface until the desired time.Further, in each of the cases described herein wherein a sleeve isapplied to a flower pot or a covered pot, the sleeve may be appliedthereto either by depositing the flower pot or covered pot downwardlyinto the open retaining space of the sleeve, or the sleeve may bebrought upwardly about the flower pot or covered pot from below theflower pot or a covered pot.

Changes may be made in the construction and the operation of the variouscomponents, elements and assemblies described herein or in the steps orthe sequence of steps of the methods described herein without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the followingclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A sleeve initially having a flattened conditionprior to being opened for use and sized to contain a pot or a floralgrouping, the sleeve comprising: a lower portion having a first side, asecond side, a first panel and a second panel, the lower portion havinga tapered shape, and having an expansion element comprising a gusset ineach of the first side, and the second side, and wherein the expansionelements expand when the sleeve is opened from the flattened conditionto enable deposition of the pot or the floral grouping into the openedsleeve; and an upper portion which is detachable from the lower portionvia a detaching element.
 2. The sleeve of claim 1 wherein each gussethas an inner fold.
 3. The sleeve of claim 1 further comprising a skirtportion which extends above the upper end of the pot when the pot isdisposed within the sleeve.
 4. The sleeve of claim 3 wherein the skirtportion has an upper end having a non-linear pattern.
 5. The sleeve ofclaim 1 wherein the detachable upper portion is sized to substantiallyenclosed the floral grouping disposed within the pot disposed within thesleeve.
 6. The sleeve of claim 5 wherein the upper portion has a firstgusset in a first side thereof and a second gusset in a second sidethereof.
 7. The sleeve of claim 5 wherein the upper portion isdetachable via perforations having a non-linear pattern.
 8. The sleeveof claim 1 wherein the detaching element is selected from the groupconsisting of perforations, tear strips and zippers.
 9. The sleeve ofclaim 1 wherein the sleeve has a lower end which is curved.
 10. Thesleeve of claim 1 wherein the sleeve comprises an adhesive or cohesivebonding material disposed upon a portion thereof.
 11. The sleeve ofclaim 1 wherein the lower portion substantially conforms to an overallshape of the pot when said pot is disposed within the lower portion. 12.The sleeve of claim 1 wherein the upper portion has an upper end whichhas an adhesive or cohesive bonding material thereon for sealing theupper end of the upper portion.
 13. The sleeve of claim 1 furtherdefined as constructed from a material selected from the groupconsisting of treated or untreated paper, metal foil, polymer film,non-polymer film, cardboard, fiber, cloth, burlap, and laminations orcombinations thereof.
 14. The sleeve of claim 1 further defined asconstructed from a material having a thickness in a range of from about0.5 mil to about 10 mils.
 15. The sleeve of claim 1 further defined asconstructed from a material having a thickness in a range of from about0.1 mil to about 30 mils.
 16. The sleeve of claim 1 further defined asconstructed from a material having a thickness in a range of from about1 mil to about 5 mils.
 17. The sleeve of claim 1 wherein the detachableupper portion is adapted to enable the sleeve to be supported on asupport assembly.
 18. A sleeve initially having a flattened conditionprior to being opened for use and sized to contain a pot or a floralgrouping, the sleeve comprising: an upper end, a lower end, a firstside, a lower portion having a second side, a first panel and a secondpanel, the lower portion having an expansion element comprising a gussetin each of the first side, and the second side, and wherein theexpansion elements expand when the sleeve is opened from the flattenedcondition to enable deposition of the pot into the sleeve, the sleevefurther comprising an upper portion which is detachable from the lowerportion via a detaching element.
 19. The sleeve of claim 18 wherein thelower portion is tapered.
 20. The sleeve of claim 18 wherein the upperportion is detachable via perforations.
 21. The sleeve of claim 20wherein the upper portion is detachable via perforations having anon-linear pattern.
 22. The sleeve of claim 18 further comprising askirt portion in the lower portion wherein the upper portion isdetachable from the skirt portion.
 23. The sleeve of claim 22 whereinthe skirt portion has an upper end having a non-linear pattern.
 24. Thesleeve of claim 18 wherein each gusset has an inner fold.
 25. The sleeveof claim 18 wherein a lower end of the lower portion is curved.
 26. Thesleeve of claim 18 wherein the upper portion has a first gusset in afirst side thereof and a second gusset in a second side thereof.
 27. Thesleeve of claim 18 wherein the lower portion substantially conforms toan overall shape of the pot when said pot is disposed within the sleeve.28. The sleeve of claim 18 wherein the upper portion has an upper endwhich has an adhesive or cohesive bonding material thereon for sealingthe upper end of the upper portion.
 29. The sleeve of claim 18 whereinthe upper portion is adapted to enable the sleeve to be supported on asupport assembly.